Disposable wash-bowl liners



1957 I D. J. BARNWELL Y 2,317,851

DISPOSABLE WASH-BOWL LINERS Filed Jan. 4, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR DOROTHY J- BARNWELL ATTORNEYS Dec. 31, 1957 D. J. BARNWELL DISPOSABLE WASH-BOWL LINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 4, 1957 INVENTORY DOROTHY J. BARNWELL" ATTORNEYS United fitates Patent DISPOSABLE WASH-BOWL LINERS Dorothy J. Barnwell, Orangeburg, S. C.

Application January 4, 1957, Serial No. 632,548

2 Claims. (Cl. 4166) This invention relates to sanitary inserts or liners for wash basins or bowls, and more particularly to low cost, disposable liners which may be discarded after use.

Because of the oftentimes unsanitary condition of wash bowls installed in public places such as railway trains and other common carriers, and the careless and indiscriminate use of such bowls by persons sufiering from communicable skin or other diseases, numerous attempts have heretofore been made to protect the traveling public from such hazards by providing a removable liner for the bowls.

In all cases of which I am aware, however, such previous attempts have sought only to cover the interior of the bowl itself, leaving entirely exposed the usual marginal slab and the operating elements or handles of the faucets, soap dispensers, or other fittings with which basins are usually equipped.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sanitary, disposable liner which will not only protect the interior of the bowl itself, but will also cover at least a portion of the surrounding marginal slab, and will overlie the operating elements of the fittings so asto prevent the hands of the user from coming in contact therewith.

Another object is to provide a liner of this character consisting of a single fiat sheet of flexible, tough material, which is relatively inexpensive to produce and which may be readily folded and dispensed from a suitable vending machine.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of one form of my improved wash bowl liner as it appears before being applied to a bowl;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on a smaller scale showing one type of basin and with my improved liner in position thereon;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a different form of liner; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another type of basin showing the liner of Fig. 3 in position thereon.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and more particularly first to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, my improved liner is formed of a single sheet 1 of thin, flexible, tough, Waterproof material which may be of any suitable or desired shape, such as square with rounded corners as illustrated in Fig. 1. This sheet may be made of synthetic resinous material such, for example, as rubber hydro chloride film (sold under the trade name Pliofilm), polyethylene, polyvinyl, synthetic rubber, natural rubber latex, etc. Such materials, besides being tough and flexible, are of course waterproof or impervious.

To render this sheet suitable for my purpose, I cut a plurality of slits 2 extending inwardly from the outer edge or margin, these slits 2, in the form shown in Fig. 1, being extended diagonally as shown at 3.

These slits form between themselves a flap 6, which is shown as cut off at 4 so that it does not extend to the original margin of the sheet. On either side of the slits 2 and 3 are formed flaps 7, and the center of the sheet is preferably marked with a circle 5 toaid in properly positioning the same in the bowl. i i

The type of basin, to which the sheet is shown applied in Fig. 2, comprises a body A in the center of which is formed the usual bowl, surrounded by a flat horizontal marginal slab. Supported-in and projecting up from this slab are the usual faucets B and C, which areshown as provided with operating handles. In use, my improved liner is placed in position on the basin and the central portion thereof pushed down into'the bowl so as to substantially conform therewith, the center mark 5 being positioned over the usual waste or drain opening in the bottom of the bowl. The slits 2 and 3 are slipped over the lower part of the faucets so as to embrace the same, while the flaps 7 overlie the handles of the faucets as shown, and thus protect the hands of the .user fr QLD Q91!- tact therewith.

The flap 6 occupies the space between the two faucets and rests upon the horizontal slab of the basis, thus providing a flat sanitary surface on which toilet articles such as toothbrush, razor, etc. may be laid.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a slightly different form of liner which is shown as consisting of a circular sheet 1'. This sheet has a pair of slits 8 and 9 extending inwardly from the outer edge thereof, as shown. These slits provide a flap 10 between them and other flaps 11 and 13 on either side thereof.

The basin illustrated in Fig. 4 comprises a body A having a fitting consisting of a pair of faucets of the push-button type D and E, associated with a discharge spout F. The basin is also equipped with a soap dispenser G, also of the push-button type.

The liner is applied to a basin of this type by placing the slit 8 around the spout F, as shown, and the slit 9 around the discharge spout of the soap dispenser. It will be seen that when the liner is properly positioned in the bowl, the flaps 1t) and 11 overlie and cover the operating elements or pushbuttons D and E of the faucets, while the pushbutton of the soap dispenser G is covered either by a portion of the flap 10 as shown, or by the flap 13. It will be understood that when the sheet of material is deformed from its flat condition, such as shown in Fig. 3, into the bowl-fitting condition shown in Fig. 4, the flaps on either side of either slit tend to overlap, so it is quite possible that in the case of the soap dispenser G, for example, the flaps 10 and 13 may be superposed and both will overlie the operating element. Similarly, the flaps 10 and 11 may overlap at their outer edges.

The portion of the sheet 12, which really is a continua tion of the flap 11, rests upon the flat surface of the marginal slab of the basin adjacent the faucet D and provides a flat space on which toilet articles may be laid.

While in Fig. l the slits comprise substantially parallel portions 2, and diagonally disposed portions 3, it may be said that in both Figs. 1 and 3 the two slits extend inwardly in the same general direction from the margin.

There are of course many other types of basins in use, having fittings which differ both in construction and arrangement, but in any case the same principle applies,

' namely, the protective sheet is formed with slits extending inwardly from the outer edge thereof at points corresponding to the position of the several fittings, these slits being fitted around or caused to embrace the fittings, and the resulting flaps being so positioned as to overlie or cover the handles or operating elements of the faucets or other fittings.

It will of course be understood that the circle 5 shown in Figs. 1 and 3 does not represent an opening, but merely a mark. The sheet is of course imperforate and it is im material whether the drain or waste at the bottom of the bowl is closed by a stopper or by a plug manipulated by a control handle, since the liner overlies the waste opening in any event. After use, the liner is simply removed by pulling up on one side thereof and the water contained therein is merely dumped into the bowl.

It will be seen that the cost of fabrication of my improved liner from a single flat sheet is relatively small and that the sheets such as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 may be readily folded into compact form and dispensed from a suitable vending machine.

What I claim is:

l. A disposable sanitary liner for washbowls consisting of a single thin sheet of flexible, tough, waterproof material larger than the bowl and having at least two slits extending inwardly from the margin thereof in the same general direction, thereby forming flaps between and on either side thereof, said flaps being positionable to embrace the bowl fittings, and said flaps being of such size and shape as to overlie the operating elements of said fittings so as to protect the hands of the user from coming in contact therewith.

2. A disposable sanitary liner for wash basins of the type having a bowl surrounded by a horizontal marginal slab, with the usual fittings supported by said slab, said liner consisting of a single, thin sheet of flexible, tough, waterproof material larger than said bowl having at least two slits extending inwardly from the outer edge thereof in the same general direction, thereby forming flaps between and on either side thereof, said flaps being positionable to embrace said fittings, and said flaps being of such size and shape that one of them overlies a portion of said marginal slab adjacent a fitting to provide a sanitary flat surface on which toilet articles may be laid, while others are so disposed as to cover the operating elements of said fittings to prevent the hands of the user from coming in contact therewith.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,681,294 Henry Aug. 21, 1928 1,987,020 Looft Jan. 8, 1935 

